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To help you decide whether a Bordeaux river cruise is suitable for you, here's a look at what you'll see, based on each important wine region. The wine tours and wine visits will usually take about half of your day, and alternate excursions to castles and villages are also available. A river cruise in Bordeaux gives you a taste of what the famous region is all about.
Grand Cru Tasting
At aperitif time or for a family stroll, take the time for an unforgettable river cruise. Poolside service at Le Café du Soleil offers casual French cuisine as well as open-air cooking demonstrations from our chefs.In addition to the public spaces, the S.S. Bon Voyage features four new spacious suites, and every stateroom has received an exquisite redesign with cool marble bathrooms and unique features. While France-based CrosiEurope has long offered river cruises in Bordeaux, it wasn't until 2014 that Viking River and Uniworld dedicated ships to the region.
Waterways in Detail
The bathroom was also equipped with refillable shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion. After coming straight from a barge cruise, which has tight cabin configurations, I wasn’t sure quite what to expect of our cabin on board the AmaDolce, but I was pleasantly surprised. The cabins onboard the AmaDolce are about 170 square feet, which sounds small for a hotel room but it pretty standard for a cruise ship. Shop the local food markets of Bordeaux and be guided on French cooking techniques as you whip up (and devour) a deliciously authentic meal. Enjoy a meal at an age-old château, owned by consecutive generations who have perfected regional recipes and wine making techniques that will leave your palate aquiver. Bordeaux's vineyards are especially picturesque during the Autumn harvest season from late September to late October.
Cadillac
Getting on an off the ship would also be problematic for those with mobility issues. I advised my in-laws, who have trouble walking too much or navigating steps of any kind, that this probably wouldn’t be the best choice for them. However, I heard stories on board of 90+ year olds joining in on the bike tours. The latest in river tourism in Bordeaux, Sirius was designed and built with the most modern technologies in terms of sustainable development. Come and enjoy a unique 360° experience on the Garonne and fully appreciate the many Bordeaux monuments. Can be privatized, this boat can accommodate you for a cocktail, an evening, a seminar or a simple transfer.
On the flip side, I absolutely LOVED the interactive art exhibit at Les Bassins des Lumieres. When I visited, it was a Dali and Gaudi exhibit set primarily to the sounds of Pink Floyd. I loved the way the music reverberated through the concrete building and the digital art projections reflected in the water below.
Day 9
Still, your ship will likely have a Sauternes on its menu and with onshore prices that go high -- Sauternes is usually sold in half bottles -- give it a whirl. Your river cruise should include a visit to at least one chateau that produces Grand Cru Classe wines, although this is not the highest level of wine you can drink in Saint Emilion. To give you an overview of Bordeaux wines, a river cruise here should provide stops in several of the smaller regions. The wide Gironde River divides the area into the Right Bank and the Left Bank, both of which produce vastly different wines. The smaller Garonne river picks up shortly before the city of Bordeaux, and further influences the climate south of the city. Finally, the Dordogne bisects the Right Bank, creating yet another microclimate with its own unique wines.
My only other picky complaint, beyond my too-high expectations, was the butter. I just adore a good French butter with that little bit of sea salt on top to spread on my baguette when I’m in France and sadly, the main dining room just served a commercial grade whipped butter. On our last day we had lunch in Bordeaux at Avant Comptoir du Palais and they served the most amazing French butter with silvers of sea salt throughout and we were in heaven. The highlight of the bathroom was the shower, which offered multiple settings and excellent water pressure. If you are large it would be a tight squeeze in the shower but the snugness reminded me not to linger or use too much water.
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Panoramas of Route de la Corniche Fleurie with Blaye Fortress
We were on the Cello deck in cabin 208, which is a category B stateroom on the middle deck. If you are looking for more space, there are also three suites on board that are 255 square feet and offer a sitting area with a table and a larger bathroom with a bathtub and separate shower. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the itinerary schedule provided with your final documents.
Grand Suite Bathroom (S.S. Bon Voyage)
There is typically one excursion per day, either in the morning or afternoon, although sometimes there may be two offered. You can pick from two or three choices for each excursion and the selections can be made via the AmaWaterways mobile app in the month leading up to the cruise. Since our cruise was only half-full, we also didn’t have any trouble switching our excursions as long as we gave 48-hours notice.
Meet the cellar master of an estate that produces one of St. Émilion's finest wines, Château Beauséjour Bécot. They'll take you on a full tour of the property, during which you'll be privy to insight on the terroir that helps create such incredible wines, the history of the family, their underground cellars and more. After your tour, taste the fruits of this estate yourself on a terrace overlooking the vineyards. The Route de la Corniche Fleurie…could this be the most beautiful road you’ve ever traveled? Find out today on the drive to Blaye Fortress, passing through one impossibly picturesque hamlet after another. Once you arrive, you’ll discover the wonders of this historic fortress, a UNESCO-designated citadel that once protected Bordeaux from attacks by sea.
We'd encourage you to take one, as well as staying a few nights before or after in Bordeaux. River cruises dock in Pauillac, which lies in the heart of the Medoc, the general name for the wine-growing region north of Bordeaux. This gives you access to all the smaller, well-known appellations such as Pauillac itself, Saint-Estephe, Saint-Julien and -- perhaps the most famous -- Margaux. Wine has been made in Bordeaux since Roman times, with claret beginning as an export in the Middle Ages. Thanks to a rigid classification system, the chateaus that made their reputations on quality wine in the 19th century are still producing top vintages today.
The Romans, who conquered the region in 60 BC, endowed Bordeaux with vineyards and wine production. Itinerary and shore excursions are subject to change and may vary by departure. Visit a must-see Aquitaine wine-growing town and a UNESCO-listed vineyard region. If your cruise package includes a group departure transfer or if you have purchased a private departure transfer, you will be transferred to Bordeaux-Mérignac International Airport for your flight home. A panoramic tour of this legendary landscape takes you from Pauillac to the tip of the Médoc peninsula, past... Discover why today as you join an oyster farmer at the Guards’ House terrace for a tasting of this delicacy, accompanied by a glass of local white wine.
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We also had free time in town to shop or explore the steep, narrow cobblestone streets. Of course, we ended up in one of the other many, many wine shops that line the streets for another wine tasting and had a great conversation with the staff to learn even more about the region and the vineyards they represented. Located in southwestern France, Bordeaux offers gastronomy, pastoral charm and easy access to the Atlantic Ocean.
Grand Cru Classe wines are no slouch, and the chateaux you visit on your cruise will likely expose you to wines that you can't find in the U.S. But if you're more serious about wine and want to stock up on the rarer stuff, spend your free time in Saint Emilion -- itself a UNESCO site -- at one of the dozens of shops. Most ship to the U.S. and if you can't wait that long, remember that river ships seldom charge a corkage fee. On the Right Bank, ships generally dock in the historic port of Libourne, which came into existence in the 12th century solely so England could have access to the region's wines.
We then took a coach bus on a bit of a long ride (around an hour) to Château Gruaud Larose in Medoc on the left bank of Bordeaux for a tasting of Grand Cru wines. I’ve talked to a lot of people that have done a fair number of river cruises, and many of them said that AmaWaterways offers the best food. First of all, we were in France, a country known for its exceptional cuisine.
If you're a novice and want to begin upping your wine knowledge, a river cruise here will give you a nice foundation in the basics. If you already know a thing or two about Bordeaux wines, a river cruise allows you to explore the region's various terroir (climate and soil) and sample a few nice vintages, without getting too in-depth. And finally, if you're a serious wine lover but your spouse or friends aren't, it's hard to beat the convenience of seeing Bordeaux by water, without having to arrange accommodations and chateau visits on your own.
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